Terminal C Baggage Claim closes Tuesday, February 2;
Passengers will use new Terminal B carousels
Starting Tuesday morning, February 2, passengers on flights arriving at Terminal C will pick up their luggage at the new Terminal B baggage claim area, right next door to the Terminal C ticketing counters. Passengers should follow signs to find the new baggage claim area in the new terminal.
The early use of Terminal B is a temporary arrangement that will continue for all carriers that are remaining in Terminal C until the terminal closes this summer. This change will affect passengers on flights arriving on Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, Horizon Air, US Airways, and Frontier Airlines (until Frontier moves to Terminal A in March).
Taxi service for Terminal C also will move to the ground transportation median island, directly across the road from the Terminal C security checkpoint and ticketing areas. The stop for the VTA #10 Flyer bus service also will move closer to the Terminal C security checkpoint.
The switch to the Terminal B baggage claim system will clear the way for the demolition of the Terminal C baggage claim building, which is necessary to complete the new roadway in front of the terminals. Although the rest of the new terminal won’t open until June 30, using Terminal B now instead of installing temporary equipment in Terminal C helps reduce the overall cost of the airport’s modernization program.
More Terminal B Concourse Improvements
Illy Café opened in Terminal B on January 23. It serves premium coffee imported from Italy and a selection of fresh Panini sandwiches, salads and pastry. Illy compliments other food and beverage concessions already open in Terminal B which include Le Boulanger, The Brit and Shark’s Cage. Locations can be found here.
More Terminal A Improvements
The new pre-security meeter/greeter area by the Terminal A security checkpoint lobby will open on Monday, February 1 for people waiting for their passengers to arrive at Terminal A. It will offer retail service with snacks and drinks. The new Terminal A Information Booth opened in January in the baggage claim area to provide convenient assistance to passengers and our airport customers.
Other major changes we’ve made to transform Terminal A that have improved the comfort and convenience of the airport for our customers in the past year include:
- New street-level ticketing lobbies are larger and more efficient, and they're especially convenient for passenger check-in and drop-off at the longer curb in front.
- The new centralized security checkpoint with eight lanes opened in November, and it now provides more capacity for faster processing and shorter lines.
- Upgraded and expanded dining, shopping and pre-boarding areas offer comfortable front-row views of airfield activity, and more new concessions are coming over the next several months.
- Terminal A now connects to the spectacular new Terminal B Concourse and its restaurants and shops.
- The gates in Terminal A have been renumbered. Gate 1 is now at the far north end of the terminal; Gate 22 is at the south end of the opened part of the Terminal B Concourse.
- New floors and ceilings and remodeled bathrooms have been installed throughout Terminal A, making it much brighter and more comfortable.
- And there's plenty of convenient parking available in the Terminal A Garage.
New flights for San Jose
Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and JetBlue Airways have announced new service at San Jose beginning this spring. Here’s the line-up of new flights coming to SJC:
Alaska Airlines
March 11: Nonstop service begins to Maui
March 12: Nonstop service begins to Kona
March 14: A second nonstop flight to Austin begins
Horizon Air
Now through April 11: Nonstop service to Mammoth Mountain Ski Area
March 26: Nonstop service begins to Spokane
March 26: A second nonstop to Sacramento begins
JetBlue Airways
May 13: Nonstop service begins to Boston
“Hands” Artwork on Rental Car Center garage to be completed soon
The final panels depicting the hands of 54 Silicon Valley residents greeting the world from the airport are going up over the next few weeks. The mural on the east side of the new consolidated rental car center spans 1,200 feet, stand seven stories tall, and is visible miles away – the height of the image is as tall as the heads on Mt. Rushmore. “Hands,” created by international artist Christian Moeller, is an integral part of the garage architecture and provides an innovative aesthetic enhancement within the construction budget.
The façade was constructed from two layers of architectural chain link mesh. The outer layer is covered with a “bitwall” consisting of nearly 400,000 plastic disks hand-snapped on to 107 mesh panels to create a high-resolution pixelated image. The inner layer is a denser mesh that serves as a background for the image formed by the dots. You can see the progress of the installation here.
The development of the artwork was a complex collaboration by the Airport, the San Jose Public Art Program, the artist, and the architect and builder of the garage.
Reminder for Southwest Airlines passengers
Because of temporary construction phasing, Southwest Airlines passengers still have long walk between Gate 22, the furthest open gate in our new Terminal B Concourse, and the Terminal A checkpoint and baggage claim area.
This interim configuration of Terminal A and Terminal B Concourse will go away in June when we open Terminal B. The new terminal will then serve the Southwest gates for ticketing, security, and baggage claim, and the walk to the gates will be shorter. Any passenger who might need assistance for this long walk should ask a Southwest Airlines ticket agent or gate agent, or use an airport white courtesy telephone to arrange for help or request a wheelchair.
The Airport's $1.3 billion modernization program remains ahead of schedule and under budget.
If you haven’t flown from San Jose in the past year, or even in the last few months, the airport has changed dramatically to make the experience far more comfortable and convenient for you. Old landmarks have been replaced by new buildings and roadways, so please allow a little time so you can get your bearings and explore the new terminal features. For more information on Airport changes, maps, and services, go to www.flysanjose.com, and here are photos of the project as of December.
Safety Reminder
Heavy construction equipment continues to use airport roads. As always, please watch out for other drivers, pedestrians, and construction workers. Airport parking control and traffic officers are there to help keep traffic flowing safely, so please pay attention to them, too, especially during peak times. And please, pedestrians should not walk through construction zones – follow the designated walkways.
Airport Construction "Hot Line" at (408) 501-0630
For current information about construction impacts to the airport, call (408) 501-0630. We regularly update the recorded message to help our passengers as we make changes affecting roads, terminals, and parking at SJC.
Construction Schedules Are Subject To Change
We will keep updating the public and our customers about the project details as they occur, but please bear with us as we adjust schedules for the project. We appreciate your patience, and thank you for flying San José while we build The New Airport for you.
Airport Construction Update is produced by the Marketing and Communications Division at Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport. We welcome your comments. If you’re not already on the mailing list for this publication, you can subscribe by going to www.sjc.org.
